D&D 5E WOTC Possibly Removing "Druids" for Religious/Cultural Sensitivity Reasons

[MGibster]

D&D absolutely does have some problem class names in the past. There's a reason we don't see the Wicca any more (Or Wokani they renamed it to), or that one variant thief that's a slur for Romani people

There was a Wicca class?

 

[Vaalingrade]

How many people wake up in the morning offended and outraged that Dungeons & Dragons has classes named Druid, Shaman, Barbarian? Let's add a few more to the list of class names to remove from the game starting with Wizard, Bard, Cleric, Fighter, Paladin, Sorcerer, Warlock and Rogue. Did I miss any? This is ridiculous and I give it four thumbs down !!

This is exactly the reaction this bait article was designed to induce.

Just existing to be a rallying point for people to belittle real issues by baselessly saying they're being offended on purpose and then throw around some hyperbole.

It clearly did it's job by making the discourse worse.

 

[Tonguez]

There was a Wicca class?

DnD Master Rules had a Shaman and Wiccan for non-humans (orcs, goblins, gnolls etc). The Shaman got a list cleric spells, the Wiccan was a magic-user. Orcs of Thar mention Wicca as do a few other supplements. By the Rules Cyclopedia it had been changed to Wokani (alongside Witch and Wisewoman)

 

[AnotherGuy]

This post got a couple of laughs but it's no joke here; back in the day I heard many a complaint about just that: that "Fighting Man" was a sexist name for the class.

People interpret things differently. In this context I see the man as short for mankind rather than man as in male.

 

[Divine2021]

Mannnn, what a thread to have missed out on. All the good points have already been made! You all should read Ronald Hutton on Druids. That’s all I’ll add.

 

[Lanefan]

But don't ask me what said class would be called. If I knew, I'd be using it.

"Nature Cleric" works for us and has for many years.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Druid - TV Tropes

Originally, Druids were one sect of the Celtic priesthood. Because they practiced their rites in the wilderness in great secrecy, and wrote nothing about what they did, little is known about them. Most historical accounts are from the writings of …

tvtropes.org

I don't mind if my D&D is not affected, but it would be really funny and ridiculous if they remove "druid", "shaman" and "witch" but these are used by the players as if nothing happened.

Is really necessary? And what if after there is a new step, until reaching really ridiculous levels? We need empathy and good sense, but we should take care because we could be creating new taboos.

I would like to know Getafix's opinion.

 

[Guest 7042500]

Fun fact: According to our own @Gronan of Simmerya, those pictures were drawn by Cookie Corey, wife of Bill Corey from the original Lake Geneva gaming group.

The 1970s were a different world.

 

[Mecheon]

"Nature Cleric" works for us and has for many years.

Completely obtuse to anyone who isn't in D&D though, and knows what a druid is from outside that.

The chainmail wearing crusading knight using holy powers is not what the pop culture image of the druid entails in the slightest. I bring up 'Some folks thnk druids should be removed and turned into nature clerics' to a friend who isn't in the weeds of D&D and she laughs every time because she considers it absurd and a contradiction of what the druid concept is.

 

[Aldarc]

Currently, I'm working (slowly and sporadically) on a more general divine class called the "mystic". D&D has used that term for a monk-like character in BECMI, and an psychic type character in the playtests . . . but I think the word works well for a divine caster. My (eventual) mystic would include druid and shaman subclasses, although I'd not use the word "shaman".

This was the tact that Starfinder did. It put their space cleric, space druid, space shaman, and space psion all under the "Mystic" class.